#and shri’iia is like ok ❤️ yay ❤️

[swordmaid]

lolth-sworn society beauty standards must be so crazy and strict tho…. like if the red eyes are a gift from lolth and if not every drow are born with the red eyes I just imagine you’d get ostracised if you’re born with white eyes or purple, like ur not wanted by lolth from birth so ur inherently worthless. in the same vein if you also don’t have white hair then you’re treated as an Other bc you don’t look like everyone else. and I imagine that lolth is THE very definition of their beauty standard so they aspire to look like her, and all the beauty trends and ideals are influenced from her or from her spiders and if there’s anything any feature about yourself that deviates from lolth’s standards then you’re considered as ugly and grotesque.

likewise, I’d imagine the upkeep of beauty is a sort of status symbol because if you manage to keep up with the elaborate outfits and hairstyles without worrying someone is gonna kill you with it it means that you have the luxury to be comfortable. and also the means to afford such things in the first place bc resources in the underdark are pretty limited and gems from the surface needs to be imported and id imagine they’d be more expensive bc it’s already so risky going down the underdark let alone doing trade in menzoberranzan.

like unsure if this an actual thing too but I like the hc so it’s real to Me! But I like the idea that hair is essentially a status symbol towards the drows, and they favour elaborate braids and updos that resembles a spider’s web and cocoon, and a way to punish and shame someone is to cut off their long hair. like imagine if the matriarchs wore gigantic elaborate braided hair with all these head pieces and designs to show off the status of their house and the power they themselves have, and the lesser houses’ braids are much more smaller in comparison. she would have the means to do her hair like that daily because she has designated servants and slaves attending to her needs, and she has the money to afford all sorts of accessories. and the same goes for their clothes too, since silk is a favourite amongst the drows and it’s a pretty difficult fabric to work with. I’d also imagine lace being a highly sought out fabric among them since it’s so delicate and flimsy, and it could easily snag. but the fact that you’re able to wear something fragile as lace is a power play in itself since it’s a show off your own strength and power … kind of like a taunt ?

anyway, this isn’t really going anywhere I’m just typing aloud but I’d imagine in a society where almost everyone’s colouring is similar to each other, where beauty is one of the most infamous traits they’re known to have, and where they claim that red eyes is a gift from the goddess they’re all expect to covet and worship id imagine the beauty standards there are so crazy and toxic lol

[swordmaid]

absolutely diabolical concept of shri’iia originally having her hair super long and on a single braid because it’s what her matriarch wanted and she pulls on it sometimes like a leash and in the vengeance (or devotion???) shri’iia/ascended astarion ending he makes her grow her hair again….. like the leash is back BABY..!!!!

[swordmaid]

oohhhouehouhhoho now I am thinking about the possibility in a spawn shri’iia route ( bc that route would mean shri’iia is NOT pursuing her own freedom and she IS happy with forever being someone’s tool to use (the person she was before she breaks her oath) and that path meant that she has taken up her oath again but now it’s like pure devotion to astarion or something along that line) she would actually get more closer to the emperor bc that would MEAN their relationship is not antagonistic since shri’iia didn’t like him because he used her and she’s had enough of people using her, and he’s keeping orpheus against his will and that goes against her tenets as an oath breaker. in a route where she’s happy about being used, she will not mind the emperor and she will actually respect him more that he managed to fool her so. that means their relationship is friendlier and more co-operative. and the fact that she’s now a spawn !!!! and I hc that vampire shri’iia is such a glutton bc astarion would not want to restrict her the way cazador has starved him (to prove that he’s better than him) and she doesn’t know how to control that hunger and I also think he would encourage her to indulge in every little whim she feels so shri’iia is out there eating an alarming amount of people and the emperor is like bestie i so can relate I used to eat people too 🤭🥰 and she’s like omg no way and he’s like yeah def I’ll even teach you (bc I’m in ur head and I can see ur pov) the most efficient ways to pick someone off and who you should pick off and she’s like yay ❤️ ok ❤️ and I like the idea that he actually instructs her what to do, and how to use her newfound illithid powers (bc she would’ve ate the special worm atp since they’re besties) for her own benefit. like she has both vampire powers and half illithid powers girly is flying off the walls pouncing on people then drinking them dry. or eating their brain idk. and then when he appears in her dream half naked and she’s like 👀🤭 maybe she WILL fuck the squid man I mean astarion her beloved is always telling her to indulge in her every whim and who is she to deny him !!!